I could test the MHC-V13 - is it only good for parties?

[IamNic]

I think the best way to sum up this article is to say that I am positively surprised. With the MHC-V13 I had expected a party sound system that is loud, plays electronic music and is not suitable for much more besides that. 

The big subwoofer with its jet-bass-boosters gives a good hint to what to expect.

What should I say - I was wrong. But let's start with what's inside the box.

Unboxing-Experience:

The speaker is packed very neatly. The unit is wrapped by four foam inserts (two on top, two on the bottom), which are tied around the speaker with a plastic flat band. The accessories are placed on (remote control, power cord) or under (instructions, documents, batteries, radio antenna) the speaker.

Although I missed it, it's clearly printed on the box where its "top" is, so in which orientation you should unpack the speaker (little hint, the box should be lying on its side, not "standing" on the narrow side).

Once you have taken the accessories and the speaker out of the box, you can already start setting it up after removing the foam protectors.

Setting it up:

The radio antenna can be simply plugged into the connector on the back of the speaker. Just make sure that the plug is specially shaped so that you plug it in the right way round.

Next, I equipped the remote with the included AAA batteries.

Then the C7 power cable is connected to the connector (also on the back) and the hardware-side setup is completed.

If you switch on the speaker now, I would recommend to connect the Smartphone (if available) to the MHC-V13 via Bluetooth, because the "Music Center" app provides a better graphical user interface to facilitate the setup. Just press the Bluetooth button on the speaker.

The MHC-13 right after unpacking.

My first step was then to run the search for the built-in DAB+ tuner. For this purpose, the app displays the progress in steps of ten percent.

Once this has been completed, you can switch through the stations in the app or on the device itself. In the app, you can also save favourites as "presets". There is space for 20 stations (the same applies to the preset list on the FM tuner).

First impression:

For the first "sound check" and as a test for the CD drive, I inserted the album "S16" by Woodkid. It offers a very large dynamic range and songs that serve different sound ranges. Depending on the song, I experimented with the various "Soundfield" options, since you can select preconfigured equalizers OR - with "Custom EQ" - self-configured ones, depending on the genre played or your own taste.

The CD drive - here with the album "Overworld" by SAVANT

Here I was very surprised how balanced the default sound experience was, yet it can also be improved if you choose the right equalizer.

For fun, I also listened to an audio book as well, choosing "Qualityland" (if you speak German, I highly recommend it). The only criticism would be that you probably can't listen to audio books to fall asleep very well with the MHC-V13, since even the lowest volume ("1" according to the display) is still "too loud" in my eyes to fall asleep to, even changing the soundfield helped only a little bit.

The physical buttons and overall controls all feel high-quality and the tactile feedback is very pleasant. However, it would have been nice if the buttons were illuminated, since you cannot read the lettering in a dark room. However, the smartphone can help here as well, since all functions can be executed here. You could also use the remote control for this, but I haven't really used it since unpacking the sound system and used my smartphone instead.

Depending on your taste, you can either turn off the subwoofer's illumination, let it slowly change through the colors in "Ambient" mode, or let it blink in "ON" mode to match the musics beat. The light source is located at the bottom center in front of the subwoofer's membrane and shines "backwards" against it very brightly.

I was also pleasantly surprised to discover the microphone holder at the top right, where you can hang the karaoke microphone (not included) between songs - it folds out to the side and can be folded back flush with the case after use.

The microphone holder is hidden on the right side when viewed from the front.

While we're on the subject of karaoke, you can put a smartphone or tablet in the groove at the top of the back and read the lyrics from there. With services like Amazon Music, you can display the lyrics directly in the player and read them along. But this holder is also very useful in general to keep your device (with music selection) on the speaker.

Smartphones or tablets can be placed in a holder by the carrying handle.

Impression after having used the speaker for some time:

I'm still totally fascinated by how balanced the sound experience is. As someone who listens to many different genres of music, I like to run the MHC-V13 as an "everyday system". Whether radio, CD or streaming via Bluetooth, the MHC-V13 is now my faithful companion. Due to the design and the practical carrying handle, you can also easily take it from room to room and thus use it even where you normally do not have a permanently installed speaker system on site. Only a power outlet is required.

For placement, I would recommend placing the speaker close to a wall, not only because the back does not give much visually, but also because the sound radiates little to the rear and you can achieve the best "sound" with a placement close to a wall.

A really useful feature that I didn't pay attention to at first is the "Rec to USB" feature, which allows you to transfer inserted CDs to a plugged-in USB stick. For this the system offers different bitrates for the copy process. So you only have to insert a CD once and can then save it forever to the stick to have it directly available at the next party.

TL:DR:

The MHC-V13 offers a comprehensive overall package and, in my opinion, can make a lot of people happy. Despite my certainly already detailed review, I haven't even touched on some features yet, which is why I ask anyone interested to go to the technical specifications and functions on the Sony website after reading this review, should I have piqued your interest.

- Nic

(Sony provided the speaker as a free sample for this test)